A front-row lockout converted into an easy one-two finish ā Mercedes had the SĆ£o Paulo Grand Prix so firmly in its grasp that it felt like we were back in the mid-2020s, as though this season had never really happened.
The only difference was the scale of the celebrations, and not just in acknowledgment of George Russellās long-awaited first victory.
It had been more than 11 months since Mercedes last won a race and more than two years since its cars finished first and second.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSItās sometimes the case in Formula 1 that the most interesting races produce the most miserable drivers ā and there was a fair bit of misery on track as the field took the chequered flag at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix
Max Verstappen was committing a minor mutiny by ignoring team orders, sending Red Bull Racing into meltdown and freeing Sergio Perez to say a bit more of what he really thinks of being teammates with the Dutchman.
Charles Leclerc was slamming his team for not allowing him past Carlos Sainz for a spot on the podium to bolster his chances of finishing runner-up in the championship.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSGeorge Russell claimed the first Grand Prix win of his Formula 1 career with a superbly controlled drive to victory at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The Briton aced his getaway from pole and mastered two safety car restarts to grind out the win ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton, securing Mercedesās first win of the year and first one-two finish since 2020.
āThis is just the beginning,ā he radioed his team. āIām so proud of all of you. I knew we could do this.ā
Continue reading on RACERGeorge Russell is a winner at last in Formula 1, although the hard work is still to come on Sunday.
Russell followed Max Verstappen past pole-getter Kevin Magnussen early in the sprint to set up a private duel for first place in the 100-kilometre dash, and after biding his time, he began his siege on the lead.
Twice he tried around Verstappenās outside at the first turn but was rebuffed.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSGeorge Russell has won his first Formula 1 race after a thrilling duel with Max Verstappen for victory in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix sprint.
Russell started third behind pole-getter Kevin Magnussen and Verstappen in second, but the Dutchman was the only driver among the frontrunners to start on the medium tire, giving him a grip disadvantage off the line.
The Briton attempted to take second from him immediately at the start, and again through the first lap, but was constantly rebuffed. By the start of the second lap, Verstappenās yellow tires were up to temperature and he set his sights forward to the lead.
Continue reading on RACERLewis Hamilton says he wants to continue in Formula 1 until at least the end of 2025 as he prepares for contract negotiations to extend his stay at Mercedes.
Hamilton is out of contract at the end of next season, when heāll be 38 years old. Another two-year deal would take him past his 40th birthday.
But the seven-time champion has showed no signs of slowing down in his 16th season despite the downturn in Mercedesās competitiveness thatās left him facing the first winless campaign of his career.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSGeorge Russell led a Mercedes one-two in final practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix after Max Verstappen struggled to string together a lap.
Russell set the benchmark early with a 1m18.399s on softs, the most used tire of the hour, and teammate Hamilton crossed the line shortly afterwards just 0.114s adrift.
The younger Briton had the edge in the first and particularly the last sectors, while Hamilton clawed back around half the difference in the middle split. It translated to a comfortable lead for the German marque over the field, the W13 appearing at home in the low-grip conditions of the still slippery, high-altitude circuit.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc crashed out of the 90-minute Pirelli tire test topped by George Russell at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Leclercās car spun off the track through Turn 8 and rear-ended the wall, with his left-rear corner suffering the worst of the damage. The Monegasque was unhurt, blaming a lack of grip on the experimental tires, as well as the dusty track, for the mistake.
The time it took to collect his wrecked car and repair the barriers cost teams and Pirelli almost 20 minutes in the middle of the session. By the time Leclerc found the barrier, Russell had already topped the session as one of five drivers granted 45 minutes of free practice during the tire test after handing their cars to rookie and reserve drivers in FP1.
Continue reading on RACERMercedes teammates George Russell and Lewis Hamilton dominated wet second practice at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Russell and Hamilton were among the most prolific lap-setters in what was otherwise ā like the first practice earlier in the day āa low-mileage session in conditions not expected to be replicated on Saturday or Sunday. They set 45 laps between them, around two-thirds the number that would be expected to be set in second practice around Suzuka.
The number is particularly low considering the session was extended by 30 minutes to allow for time to test Pirelliās 2023-spec tires. However, as only the dry compounds were set to be sampled, the test was cancelled, albeit without shortening the track program.
Continue reading on RACERLewis Hamilton pipped Max Verstappen to the top spot in twilight first practice at the Singapore Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc in third.
Mercedes driver Hamilton waited until the final five minutes to set his best time on soft tires, his best lap of 1m43.033s topping Verstappenās Red Bull by just 0.084s.
Track evolution is usually very high around the Singapore street circuit as the track rubbers in and the sun begins to set, which played into the Britonās hands given his lap came around 15 minutes after Verstappenās best effort.
Continue reading on RACERGeorge Russell topped first practice for the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort after Max Verstappen withdrew from the session with gearbox problems.
Verstappen was an early scratching from the hour-long session when his car ground to a halt at Turn 4. His Red Bull team then told him to park it as a precaution to protect the transmission, disappointing his throngs of home fans piled into the grandstands and causing a nine-minute red flag.
Red Bull said the problem wasnāt thought to be terminal, meaning the Dutchman will likely be back on track in FP2 later today.
Continue reading on RACERGeorge Russell scored the first pole position of his career by charging to the top spot in the final seconds of qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix, after points leader Max Verstappen was forced to withdraw from Q3 with engine problems.
Mercedes had looked out of sorts all weekend, with poor balance on Friday and chronic tire temperature issue during wet Saturday practice, but the W13 switched it on in time for dry qualifying.
Russell wielded the machine to perfection. His first lap split the fancied Ferrari drivers for a provisional front row, but a sublime second lap shaved 0.6s off his personal best to pip Carlos Sainz to top spot by 0.044s, all without having set a single purple sector.
Continue reading on RACERLewis Hamilton says heās never experienced as much pain while driving in Formula 1 as he did during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, thanks to his Mercedes carās aggressive bouncing.
All teams have had to deal with either aerodynamic porpoising or their cars bottoming out along Bakuās 1.4-mile straight, but Mercedes suffered most thank to the W13 already being predisposed to the bouncing.
The team clarified during the weekend that in Baku it wasnāt suffering from the same porpoising that afflicted it before the Spanish Grand Prix; instead the car was scraping along the track on the straights because it needs to be run extremely close to the ground to generate performance.
Continue reading on RACERGeorge Russell has doubled down on his calls for Formula 1 to address the āsafety limitationā in its new-design 2022 cars, declaring itās only a matter of time before the chassis bouncing phenomenon, also known as porpoising, results in a significant crash.
Russell spoke out on Friday against the physical toll the bouncing was taking on drivers in Baku, where the long front straight is triggering the phenomenon for virtually all teams to varying extents, more severely than at any circuit this season so far.
Mercedes is arguably the worst affected, with the car intermittently scraping along the ground down the straight as well as moving up and down on its suspension. But after qualifying sixth and 1.3s off the pace on Saturday, Russell said the experience of the car on the limit was so extreme that a crash owing to the bouncing was inevitable.
Continue reading on RACERMercedes team boss Toto Wolff says Formula 1 should look to American sport for guidance on capping driver salaries as debate about expanding the cost cap heats up.
Drivers are opposed to moves to cap their earnings as part of a broader push to keep team spending in check. A driver salary cap would be separate from the general cost cap, which currently excludes each teamās three biggest earners.
On Friday in Azerbaijan several drivers spoke out against the idea, claiming it would be unfair to limit their earnings when the sport is bringing in more money than ever before on the back of a popularity boom. Sebastian Vettel described it as a strategy to boost team bottom lines.
Continue reading on RACERGeorge Russell is calling for talks with Formula 1 to find a way to reduce the propensity for porpoising with the current generation of cars after a painful afternoon at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Mercedes in particular has struggled with aerodynamic bouncing for most of the year, and although upgrades brought to the Spanish Grand Prix facilitated a strong weekend for the reigning constructorsā champion in Barcelona, the porpoising has returned with a vengeance in Baku.
The problem is particularly bad in Azerbaijan, where the cars are flat out for more than 1.3 miles down the front straight, the longest single blast in the sport. The faster the cars go, the more energized the ground-effect floor becomes, sucking the cars closer to the ground until they bottom out, which causes the bouncing.
Continue reading on RACERLewis Hamilton has welcomed FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem walking back his comments stating that drivers shouldnāt be using their F1 platform to advocate social and environmental causes.
Ben Sulayem singled out Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Lando Norris for using Formula 1 to āimpose [their] beliefsā on the audience in an interview published last week, but in a tweet on Thursday he clarified that he believed the sport could be a force for positive change.
āAs a driver, I have always believed in sport as a catalyst of progress in society,ā he wrote. āThat is why promoting sustainability, diversity and inclusion is a key priority of my mandate. In the same way, I value the commitment of all drivers and champions for a better future.ā
Continue reading on RACERGeorge Russell has taken top spot from Charles Leclerc in a reversal of form in Fridayās second practice for the Miami Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver put his updated car to good advantage to pip the Ferrari by 0.106s and flip the order from first practice.
The W13 looks improved compared to the difficult machine of the first four rounds, and though the bouncing was sometimes still evident at the end of the Miami International Autodromeās long straights, it seemed less frequent than in previous races.
Continue reading on RACER